Above you’ll find a preview – an early version of a new card illustration inspired by the pair of hungry ‘white clouds’ in the nest outside my window. Who could resist drawing these chicks? See photo below. Related Blog post: The Waiting Branch, One or Two?

A pair of Spring Tawnies last appeared in my Post The Waiting Branch when I discovered them in front yard trees. Tawny Frogmouths are often overlooked or unseen because of their branch-like camouflage and ability to stay still. So it is a privilege and a delight to find this pair – to observe their quietly steadfast nature, their watchful protection. And wonder, how many eggs are in that nest – one or two? Insulated from the growing heat, the first Spring storm by an owl-like bird “more closely related to nightjars”. The larger, slightly russet male roosts daily on their nest – a handful of sticks resting on the flat fork of a branch in a paperbark tree, only four to five metres off the ground. The female – a silent sentinel – perches on one of a few favourite branches in a neighbouring tree . I have watched the nest since its discovery and in the fourth week have been rewarded with the sight of a chick – like a cloud of fluff with a beak and an eye. Photographed below, mimicking Dad – tucked low under the Tawny’s wing, …

Annmarie Scott is an illustrator, writer and maker based in Brisbane Australia. A graduate of the Queensland College of Art with a BA in Illustration, Annmarie’s artwork has been published on magazine and book covers, and between the pages of children’s picture books.